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http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives Oral History Interviews of the Kean College of New Jersey Holocaust Resource Center Interview with David Rosenblum May 22, 1987 RG-50.002*0071 This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection PREFACE On May 22, 1993, David Rosenblum was interviewed on videotape by Jeanne Miller and Bernard Weinstein on behalf of the Kean College of New Jersey Holocaust Resource Center. The interview took place in Union, New Jersey and is part of the Research Institute Archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s collection of oral testimonies. Kean College of New Jersey Holocaust Resource Center created a summary and time-coded notes for the interview. The reader should bear in mind that these finding aids attempt to represent the spoken word in the recorded interview, yet have not necessarily been verified by the interviewee. The finding aids should not be used in place of the interview itself. Rights to the interview are held by the Kean College of New Jersey Holocaust Resource Center. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum houses a copy of the interview as a result of a contributing organization agreement with the Kean College of New Jersey Holocaust Resource Center. Details concerning the Museum’s rights to use and reproduce the interview are contained in the contributing organization agreement. This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection Summary of the Interview with David Rosenblum May 22, 1987 David Rosenblum was born on May 13, 1925, the youngest of 13 children. His father worked in the fur and clothing business. David's family lived in Kraków at the outbreak of World War II. When the Germans occupied Poland, David's father bought him a set of forged papers identifying him as a Pole, so he could use "aryan" looks to help his family. The Kraków ghetto was established in 1941, and the family moved to Szydlowek, Poland. David's family was deported and he was unable to get them released. He remained at large with his forged papers. At Skarzysko-Kamienna, Poland, David saw the loading of trains destined for Treblinka. Returning to Warsaw, he tried to warn the Jewish authorities about Treblinka, but was ignored. He wandered homeless for the next two years, visiting Lublin, Poland and Lviv, Ukraine during his travels. He was captured by the Gestapo in Rava-Ruska, Poland, (Rava-Russkya, Ukraine) where he was tortured in the Montelupich prison, and then sent to Jaresolimska concentration camp in Kraków. David was then sent to Auschwitz, where he was part of a construction gang detailed to clean up rubble from the Warsaw uprising. The detail was then put on a death march to Kutno, Poland. David was then transported to the Müldorf subcamp of Dachau Concentration camp, Germany. In April 1945 he was transported to the Tyrolean mountains (Bavarian Alps). David escaped from the train and was quickly liberated by the Americans. This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection USHMM Archives RG-50.002*0071 2 He came to the United States in 1946 to live with his sister. He is married and has two children. This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection USHMM Archives RG-50.002*0071 1 Time-coded notes of the Interview with David Rosenblum May 22, 1987 01:00:00 David was born on May 13, 1925. He remembers the wedding of his sister to an American cousin. In 1938 a group of German Jews were evacuated to Kraków. Neither Poland nor Germany wanted these Jews. The Jewish Committee ordered each family in Kraków to take one family in. Kraków's population was 400,000. 01:04:00 In David's house, 15 people lived in two and a half rooms. People had to sleep on chairs. David's father worked in the fur and clothing business. On September 1, 1939 World War II began. Two of David's brothers went to Lvov (Lviv, Ukraine) in the Russian side of Eastern Poland. On September 5, the Germans entered Kraków. All of the Jewish stores in the city were looted by neighbors. 01:07:00 The Germans took people off the street for forced labor. In December 1939, David's father's store was looted and sealed. Food was scarce and the family had no income because the family business was closed. Responsibility for the family was plaaced on This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection USHMM Archives RG-50.002*0071 2 David. His mother was quite ill. Dogs and soldiers waited for Jews as David waited in line for four or five hours to get rolls. At this point, David realized that he could pass for a Pole because of his fair features. 01:10:00 While waiting in line, David was asked if he was a Jew. He denied it and was allowedin the store. He noticed an officer with a hatchet. He later learned that geese were being killed in the next room. David realized the tremendous psychological threats and manipulations that were beginning. 01:13:00 David was aware of the situation getting worse. His brothers from Lemberg (Lviv, Ukraine), returned home. His father remembered World War I, and did not believe that the Germans could be this bad and did not worry. David's father was able to get 100 kilograms of flour and made bread to save for the difficult times ahead. David needed to learn a trade and got a job as a tool and dye maker. He was 15 years old. His father bought Aryan papers for him and got a forged seal and stamp. David's name became Roman Zamin Babish. David became the key member of the family who could get out and travel to help the family. The ghetto had not been established in Kraków at this time. This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection USHMM Archives RG-50.002*0071 3 01:16:00 At this time it was still possible to buy papers. David was forced to wear the Star of David, but refused to do so. He was designated as the person to help out if anything were to happen to the family. The family was forced to turn in all radios and other forms of communication to the authorities. David became a source of information. His brothers and sisters also had a chance to become "Aryan", but chose to stay with their mother. 01:19:00 In 1941, Kraków became a ghetto. The family went to Szydlowtek near Radom, Poland. David, his brother and grandmother had to leave Kraków because his grandmother was over 100 years old. His mother and sisters stayed in the ghetto. David went to church in a Capuchin Monastery in order to receive food. He sang in the choir there. One day as he was about to receive the Host, a former schoolmate noticed him. The schoolmate yelled out his name and called him a Jew. David faked an illness and ran away. 01:22:00 In David's school, 10 out of the 45 students were Jewish. In 1938 a law was passed that placed the Jewish students on one side of the classroom and the gentile students on the other. David remembers being beaten during recess, especially before Passover. Although he always considered his background to be This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection USHMM Archives RG-50.002*0071 4 Polish, children and others always treated his family as second class citizens. There was a constant feeling of Antisemitism before the war. 01:25:00 David does not understand why the present Pope (John Paul II) does not have more understanding of the Jews' plight. The Pope attended Jagellonian University, where Jews who approached the campus would be attacked by boys armed with razors attached to sticks. David recalls that there were German officers attending the Mass when he was almost caught. David returned to Szydlowlek where his father reunited the whole family. All of this took place in the period 1940-1942. 01:28:00 David's family lived in a one room apartment. His grandmother slept on a basket and was not aware of what was happening. David traveled to Warsaw, Poland, to see his uncle and bring food to the family.